Method of conditioning fertilizer



UMTEE CHARLES A. BUTT, F ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

METHOD OF CONDITIONING FERTILIZER.

He Drawing. I

To all whom it concern Be it known that 1, CHARLES A. BUTT, a

' citizen of the United States, residing atAt- This invention relates to a method ofcon- =-ditioning fertilizers, the method being designed fertile-purpose of producing a prodi not in a substantially- 'dryia llljpulverulent condition.

Y I 'I have. discovered that'a fertilizer, fer- 7 within the mixture be incorporated by simple mixing. I

tilizer base, or material intended for use as a fertilizer, which contains nitrogen as ni-v trates, nitrites, or in the form of nitric acid and nitrogen oxides, may be mixed with acid I 4 calcium phosphate or other acid compound,

with a resultingproduct in dry condition, if a metal capable of generating hydrogen therein be understood, are merely typical:

p HNO +8H:NH +3H,O. The method is equally applicable to treatment of materials which contain some free nitric acid or nitrogen oxide and may I be applied to the treatment of such materials with or without the addition thereto of acid.

calcium phosphate orother acid compound. The ammonia produced by the reduction i of the free nitric acid or nitrogen oxides combines with any free acid present, such I as phosphoric, sulphuric, or hydrochloric,

according to the following equations:

I NH +H PO,:N'H,H,PO, or l-TH -}-H,,SO,:(NHQ SO or NH,+HC1:NH,C1.

f Ihave found that iron in the form of turnings, dust, filings, or in other-fine or granular form, is asuit-able metal to be incorporated in the fertilizer mixture, but zinc, aluminum and copper, or mater-lalcon taining these metals, or alloys thereof, may

be used with equally as good results.

Specification of Letters ?atent.

' The proportion of metal required is governed by the amount of free nitric acid or Patented time a, man.

Application filed June 17, 192i. Serial No. 478,284.

nitrogen oxides in the material to be mixed,

or .the amount of free nitric acid or nitrogen oxides formed upon making a mixture of material containing these compounds in combined form with acid phosphate or other acid compound. The amount of metal however beyond that whichis required to pro duce hydrogen sufficient to reduce all the nitric acid or nitrogen oxides may -'be in mixture is concerned.

"The theoretical amount of metal to be large excess without any serious consequence, in" so; taras themech-anical condition vof the used with a given material may be estimated from the equation stated above,

One part HNO therefore requires an addition of metal capable of producing .128

parts by weight of hydrogen. Taking iron as an-example, and assuming that the ma Since 1 lb. HNO, requires .128 lbs. hydrogen, it follows that 56 'llos. HNO, would require- 6.4 lbs. Since 1 lb. iron produces 0541 lb.- hydrogen, it

would require 118 lbs. to produce 6.4 lbs.

. It is to be understood that the abovereac tions'are merely typical, and do not represent truly just what :takes place in such complicated mixtures as are met with in some fertilizers. Y The method which constitutes my inven-v 'terial or mixture contains 50 lbs. of free to (hie pound-of iron will therefore produce 0M1 lbs. hydrogen.

tion is particularly adaptedto the mixing I of ammonium, sodium or potassium nitrates,

or other materials containing nitrogen in mineral form'of combinatlon, either with the metal alone where the material contains free acid or with the metal-and acid phosphateor acid sodium-sulphate, or other acid 1 compounds. In additioncompounds carrying chlorine may be added to the mixture,

in which case the ammoniaformed by the I reduction of the nitric acid or nitrogen 0X- ides will neutralize the freehydrochloric acid formed bythe action of the acid compound on the compounds carrying chlorine. However, the method is well adapted to the treatment of organic nitrates, such as obsolete or waste explosives, etc. To indicate the wide applicability of the method, I may mention the fact that there was recently offered to the fertilizer companies a'waste material containing potassium nitrate in addi-j} tion to calcium chloride and organic nitrates, the material thereforbeing hydroscopic and for this reason not desirable as a fertilizer. Under treatment of this waste material with ironv turnings together with acid phosphate, by simply mixing the three ingredients together, there was obtained :a product that remained dry in theatmosphere and didnot cake hard in dry weather as did the waste material alone.

My method obviates the necessity of using other conditioners, such as hydrated lime or limestone, in fertilizers in order to neutralize free acid and has several advantages over methods employing these materials, in.

that free nitric acid and nitrogen oxides-are destroyed, calcium is not added (as in the case of lime), thereby permitting the use in greater quantities of ot'li'erfertIIiZe'r materials carrying potassium or sodium carbonate without as reat a tendency to cause-reversion of the p osphoric acid to insoluble form. Organic materials such as cottonseed meal, castor, soya, velvet and other like meals, tankage and other nitrogenous materials may be incorporated in. mixtures conditioned by my method With a greatly reduced fire hazard, due to the reduction of free nitric acid and nitrogen oxides; and for the same reason the bags or other containers are not attacked and the original odor of such meals, etc.,-are preserved in the mix- 'ture.

I claim:

l. The method of treating fertilizer, which consists. in generating nascent hydrogen in fertilizer material containing a nitrogen compound capable of reacting with nascent hydrogen to produce ammonia, .whereby the ammonia will combine with any free acid in' the material. I

2. The method of producing a substantially non-hygroscopic fertilizer, which con .sists in generating nascent hydrogen in a fertilizer material containing nitric acid, whereby the ammonia .produced by the action of the nascent hydrogen on the nitric acid combines with any free acid in the flm'aterial.

- .3. The method of producing a substantially-non-hygroscopic fertilizer, which consists 1ngenerating hydrogen by incorporat- CHARLES A. BUTT. 

